irish lit, a bunch of bangers and a six star read: winter reading wrap-up ❄️

[@dearestzeynab]

WOW!!! I am in awe of your ability to profoundly talk about books and making me want to read them ASAP. I love your book chats💗

[@katsfieldnotes]

Hi Zeynab! Aw, this makes me happy! There is no one IRL i can talk about books like this with, so Im def grateful for the outlet hahah. Appreciate you!

[@ElizabethDampier]

Can we get your 5 star reads video? I love the way you speak about books! I’m entering the book world and your book taste is so diverse & up my alley ❤

[@katsfieldnotes]

Oooooh, this is a great idea for a video! Maybe I'll work on that in the future! And ah, that's wonderful! Connecting with someones book taste is always so fun, I'm so glad yours and ours align ☺️☺️ Happy reading, there are soooooooooo many yummy reads to delve into, I'm excited for you!

[@ElizabethDampier]

Thank you for considering!!! Yes I’m so grateful to have discovered your channel!

[@PoppyMorreale]

Sally Rooney the most polarizing author ever

[@katsfieldnotes]

She absolutely is! I will alwayd pull my lawn chair out for a Rooney debate, i love it 😂

[@nathansnook]

Omg your tears made me tear up! Love when a book can extract feelings felt before at another time like this. THE POWER OF LITERATURE! Will be adding Juno Loves Legs to the top of my tbr!!!

[@nathansnook]

Also love your rereads and giving the books another chance like that, finding something new in them with a fresh refrain! Will be focussing on that for myself in 2024!

[@katsfieldnotes]

Truly think about that book on a daily basis, it was such a gut-scooping read. And yes to rereading books to give them a second life! It was honestly such a good reminder to not feel bad about soft dnf's (cause it might work for you down the road!) and to be diligent about revisiting books

[@ReadingwithRylanne]

such a fun wrap up!! i love your explanations of these books

[@katsfieldnotes]

Thank you, Rylanne!! I appreciate you watching ☺️♥️

[@casskrug]

the way you talk about all these books has me wanting to read them all immediately!! you are so eloquent and your videos are always a highlight of my youtube watching!! i feel like i need to reread some sally rooney 🤨

[@katsfieldnotes]

Awww, this is so sweet Cass! And its neverrrrrr a bad time to revisit some Rooney. Ive been toying with rewatching Normal People on Hulu too 😂

[@DEBateBookz]

I’ve not heard of any of these books but you’ve convinced me! Can’t believe I’m only just finding your channel now, I love it! I’ve been a bit nervous about picking up sally rooney but I think it’s finally time 🥰

[@katsfieldnotes]

Oh hiiiii! 🙋🏽‍♀️ Haha Im happy you're here! And ooh yes, welcome to the very split world of Rooney. The vibes are contentious 😂 I think its so funny how strongly people feel on Rooney one way or another, but I love her and think her work asks really interesting questions! I hope you end up enjoying her! I feel like if you wanna read about fumbling 20somethings, Normal People is great. If you'd like to read about fumbling 30somethings, Beautiful World Where Are You is your girl haha

[@DEBateBookz]

@@katsfieldnotes my brother has actually been begging me to read normal people!! I ended up watching the tv show and I really liked it until the end and then I was like WAITTTT, that’s how it ends?!! The realism just breaks my heart 😂🙈

[@Greanbean4816]

Love hearing you talk about books! I also loved Dept. of Speculation :) I really want to pick up Say Nothing. I did a study abroad in Ireland last summer and spent most of the time in a small town on the west coast, but I took a day trip around Northern Ireland. Genuinely one of the most jarring experiences to see union jacks hanging everywhere after hearing the way locals elsewhere talk about the British. I also read Small Things Like These on my flight home, and similar to you, felt like I needed a reread.

[@katsfieldnotes]

Aw, thank you! And I love to see the Dept of Speculation love! It caught me so off guard! Im sad 'cause Ive heard that Weather isnt as great, but Im craving more Offill! Wait, this is fascinating. I'm so curious to hear what people have to say about it today, but just experiencing that start differences must have been so wild. (Also might be coming back to ask for some recs from you on what to see to visit there 👀😂) I just read some short stories by Keegam, and I think there's a different magic in her short stories, though I will def reread Small Things Like These to make sure 😂

[@Sinikiwe840]

Love your channel! Definitely getting "The department of speculation".

[@katsfieldnotes]

Aw hiiii! This is so sweet, thank you! And yesssss, I hope you enjoy it! I think she explores the trajectory of love in a really fascinating way!

[@xobeautygoddessox]

love what you have to say, but also how you say it! the tone of this video was incredibly soothing. thanks for the great recommendations! i have say nothing on hold at the library now. looking forward to it :)

[@katsfieldnotes]

Awww this is so sweet! Thank you for watching and hanging out ☺️ And ooooh, I hope you enjoy it! It was suchhh a good read!

[@GemofBooks]

I really need to get to Megan Nolan! Delighted to have found your channel through Scott 🤩

[@katsfieldnotes]

You are in for a TREAT whenever you make your way to her! Happy to have you here!! ☺️♥️

[@joycewesley]

Ahh, adding Juno Loves Legs to the TBR. I thought I was going to cry while you spoke about it lol. This is the second time I’ve heard about Ordinary Human Failings. I think it’s a sign for me to give it a try 🤔

[@katsfieldnotes]

Ive been writing some of the quotes down from it, and I swear I have to give myself breaks because even the quotes make me choke up. As an emotionally avoidant human, THIS IS A LOT 😂 but such a stunning, heartbreaking read. Of all the books, I hope you pick that one up the most! It was so special

[@katsfieldnotes]

(but also, ordinary human failings will eff you up too. heartbreaking in diff ways but holy wow -- super impactful)

[@litwithkat]

hiiiii 🫶🏼✨ i am cozy on my couch hyped to watch!!!

[@litwithkat]

i love how often you’ve reread bwway! you truly made me wanna pick it back up. i didn’t get far into it but i really loved the emails!!

[@litwithkat]

lmao sneaking a book 😂 love that visual so much hahah

[@litwithkat]

yo your freaking notes you took after you finished ordinary human failings were so beautifully written 🤯 my brain could never 😂 i’m gonna need you to write something so i can READ IT PLS

[@litwithkat]

I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO READ NOLAN

[@litwithkat]

i found my copy of say nothing in a free lil library (blessed day) but WHY HAVE I NEVER READ IT IDK ITS BEEN ON MY SHELVES FOREVER but this is the year i think LOL

[@cajsita]

Let me tell you what this book is about and then let me talk about how it made me feel - 👏🏻yes 👏🏻we 👏🏻love 👏🏻 honestly that’s exactly what I’m trying to get out of wrap up videos! I’ve been going through your backlog of videos to 1) Fall back in love w reading/booktube bc 2) the mental health isn’t healthing right now but ofc had to see what you’re up to currently. I love how your personality and joy for books in shining through in your content and the book community is richer for it! ❤

[@katsfieldnotes]

Hiiiii! Omgosh haha lowkey had to frame it like that cause otherwise I would have gushed about how it twisted me up and said nothing about what its actually about 😂 And aw, that means a lot honestly! You're so sweet! I also hope things start to feel lighter and above water for you soon. I always love seeing your name in the comments, I appreciate you being here ☺️♥️

[@cfbg]

Just finished reading Say Nothing and it’s so great. Can’t wait for the TV adaptation.

[@katsfieldnotes]

So so great! Im both super excited for the adaptation and a lil scared. What if they mess it up!! Regardless, will be strapped and tuning in 😂

[@cfbg]

@@katsfieldnotesTrue but it’s a weird thing where it’s so good that all they have to do is match half of its greatness and it’ll still be amazing television. Also, I saw who’s playing Brendan Hughes and it’s great casting.

[@KatherineDV]

Ahhh, I just read Juno Loves Legs and my goodness, loved it so much. A story that, while it’s been told before, it felt so fresh and raw and beautiful and heartbreaking in all the right ways. I keep thinking about them. Getting the audio for Say Nothing now, it’s a sign to finally read it 🤓 Lovely video as always, tocaya!

[@KatherineDV]

Ohh, I also read Lazy City in December and quite enjoyed it! Give me a plotless Irish novel about a female character reckoning with herself and I’m so in.

[@katsfieldnotes]

Can we form a support group??! 'Cause Ive actually not been ok since reading it 😂 I think I want a sequel? (Maybe I dont. Maybe what we got is perfect and enough) but wow, that book cracked me open. And eeeeep, enjoy Say Nothing!! Ok I thought Lazy City had SUCH a strong start? And then it sort of puttered in the end for me? I was SO on board with plotless girl just staying afloat pero no se! I have to think about it more haha. But def looking for more books in that vein

[@KatherineDV]

@@katsfieldnotes yes to the support group. I don’t think I could handle what I know would happen in a sequel 🥹 but I would loveeee to continue to root for Juno and see her grow. You know, I agree that Lazy City fizzled out a bit (it was not a 5 star read for me) but I think I just also got to care enough for Erin that I was just content to be with her for the duration of the novel ❤️

[@katpablo]

Not me pausing the video to immediately order Juno Loves Legs! The way I choked up hearing you talk about it 💔 My first book of the year was Small Things Like These, and it was the perfect way to begin. I needed quiet and spare. . . . I'm currently re-reading In the End it Was All About Love, by Musa Okwonga -- another quiet, introverted book. :) Thank you for another wonderful vlog !

[@katsfieldnotes]

Haha sorry about the choke-up contagion but also so happy you ordered! Its such a special one 😭 I honestly cant even think about that book for too long without still getting choked up, and its been almost a month since Ive read it! And I totally agree, sometimes those sparse, quiet novels are exactly what we need! And ok I just looked Okwonga up and WOW. This sounds really really good! I just added it to my TBR list, thank you for sharing it!!

[@ivanainthecity]

::jumping back in!!::: woooooo y empezamos con el ~royal we~ - me encanta jajajaja

[@ivanainthecity]

aww rereading that same rooney year after year

[@ivanainthecity]

haaaa a quote that's a celebrity sighting rofl!!

[@ivanainthecity]

ok I keep seeing Dept of Speculation in used bookstores! If I spot it again, ima get it!!! (After I read the first couple of pages.)

[@ivanainthecity]

I keep getting excited about Nolan's new book... and then I remember how awful Acts of Desperation made me feel, and I'm like, hmm, maybe I shouldn't read it right away cuz seasonal depression! Haaaa

[@ivanainthecity]

PATTY!!! I love his lil peekaboo pic

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

Oooh I have Say Nothing coming from the library because I, like you, have been reading around The Troubles, I think this type of nonfiction is what I need.

[@katsfieldnotes]

Oooh, you are in for a TREAT! I thought it was so well done. Informative and heartbreaking and propulsive and sensitive?? I dont know how he did it. Im in awe of this man, I really am.

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

@@katsfieldnotes I can’t wait!

[@Literatiloves]

Your video was in my recommended and I’m so glad! The way you talk about books is excellent! I literally just started Say Nothing and now I’m even more excited about it. Claire Keegan’s writing is very quiet and introspective but the story “Antarctica” was so chilling (no pun intended) - I am curious to see what you think about it. I hope 2024 continues to be a great reading year for you!

[@katsfieldnotes]

Hiiii! And omgosh what a coincidence! It seems like tons of people are picking that book up, which is so wonderful! The readership is so well deserved, its a marvel. And yes, I totally agree! I actually just read the collection Antartica and was so shocked by the difference??? In the best way! Hahaha I really enjoyed some of the stories, had some problems with others but generally really think short stories are her wheelhouse. She's SO masterful at the tension, its crazy!

[@livforreading]

I would give my life for a new nolan book every few months lol. Okay fineeee I’m buying Juno Loves Legs or maybe Say Nothing as my next treat myself moment hahahah

[@katsfieldnotes]

I would join you sis😂😂😂 And if youre gonna pick between the two, I def say do Juno Love Legs first. A lil emotional damage to start the year off is good for the soul lmaooo (but say nothing was also heart-bendy and amazing!)

[@oddlyjules]

just checked out juno loves legs from the library today on your recommendation. eep!!

[@katsfieldnotes]

Omg Im so excited for you to read it! That story has burrowed itself deep in my heart, its so tender 😭

[@katsfieldnotes]

(and heartbreaking and shocking and just ... ugh!)

[@emilyem3]

I love that the liminal end of the year was such a good reading time for you! ❤ I soft DNF’d Beautiful World Where Are You back in June and was very surprised by that since Conversations With Friends was a six-star read for me, but the way you’re talking about it and thinking about it through the lens of the friendship rather than the romantic relationships has me thinking I should give it another go this year! It’s so hard to strike the balance of right book right time, but oooh it’s so good when it hits just right haha. 🙂 Apologies if I missed it but have you read any other Rooneys?

[@katsfieldnotes]

Im glad it was too because in Jan, Ive not read a thingggg 😂 How has your reading been going! Are you in anything good right now? I have this theory about Rooney books and everytime someone shares their experience with her its like a nice lil confirmation haha, but I feel like on a macro, her books are pretty polarizing. But even in your own experience of her, there will be ones you adore and ones you feel just (barely) ok about😂 she said range, everywhere! I think the audiobook is really really great, if youre into reading with them! And Ive read all her books! I think I loved Normal People mainly because of the adaptation, but remember getting along with Conversations with Friends a lot too when I read it And totally! Thats why Im trying to tell myself not to feel to bad DNFing things😂

[@emilyem3]

@@katsfieldnotes Oh no!! Not a January slump! 😫I feel like the collective vibe (according to me hehe) was that January was just the soft launch of the year, and February is really when things are gonna start movin and groovin. So there's that? 💕 I just finished the new Kiley Reid while on vaca last week, it was SO fun, so nuanced and honestly a bit unexpectedly wild with where it went plot-wise! I just eat her writing up. And then yesterday I ripped through the audio of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, I literally reserved it from the library as soon as I watched your 2024 anticipated video 🥰 I enjoyed it as a whole but like... WOW I had so many thoughts while reading it. Would love to hear yours if/when you get around to it! And you're so right about Rooney! I think it's because while she does stick to certain over-arching themes, she refuses to cater to trends or write anything that's inauthentic to her. At least that's the vibe I get. And I really respect that, but I think that just results in her books being polarizing even among individual reading experiences, like you said! I have Normal People staring at me from my shelf right now so maybe I'll be moved to pick it up soon!

[@musicsavedme20]

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. She’s an Irish author

[@seesararead]

Well, it looks like I need to go buy Juno Love Legs IMMEDIATELY! lol

[@katsfieldnotes]

If I could only recommend one book for the rest of my days, it would be Juno Loves Legs. Im still not fully over it

[@26vertigos]

Now I have to start reading Nolan’s book immediately…Never mind the other 5 books I’m in the middle of already!! 😂

[@katsfieldnotes]

Honestly, it's a derailment that I fully endorse! (my apologies to your current reads, in advance! 😂😂) (p.s - what are you reading rn👀)

[@26vertigos]

@@katsfieldnotes The lies we told by Camilla Way (finishing it as we speak…crazy AF!) Poeta Chileno by Alejandro Zambra (recomiendo! Even though I’ve only read like 20% so far) Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro (Don’t know how I feel about it yet…) My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez (memoir…Started it yesterday and read almost 50% 💔) Late Romance - Anthony Hecht - A Poet’s Life by David Yezzi (been reading this for a couple of months 😅 I get distracted by other books, but it’s interesting)

[@26vertigos]

Por cierto…I finished Julia Alvarez’ book…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (She’s so f*%# good!!)

[@katsfieldnotes]

@@26vertigos come through with the stacked book listtttt! Ok, let me look some of these up! And conchale, I have to request that Alvarez!!

[@26vertigos]

@@katsfieldnotes Been meaning to ask if you have read The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne? If not, add it to your list ASAP…It’s one of my fave books EVER! I’m actually thinking about re-reading it this year. I’ve never read Rooney (I feel that she might not live up to the hype sometimes), but seeing that we have very similar taste in books I might give her a chance ☺️

[@bookonnoisseur]

Do you participate in The Irish Readathon? It just finished, but your videos are making me want to continue my Irish reading 😂. I literally want to run to get Juno Loves Legs

[@katsfieldnotes]

I had no idea there was an irish readathon going on! Its truly been an addiction for me (one I have zero complaints about and which I have no intention to kick 😂) Juno Loves Legs was sooooo so tender, I do hope you get to it eventually!

[@bookonnoisseur]

@@katsfieldnotes I already requested it from the library! I cannot wait!

[@jessdekkerreads8792]

I heard small things like these is being adapted into a film starring Cillian Murphy 😮

[@katsfieldnotes]

Oh interestingggg!!!! Super curious to see how it would take shape on film!

[@wtheckJackie]

Omgggg Juno Loves Legs sounds amazing!! Okay, okay, gonna find away way to acquire that one stat. Also love your excerpt about Ordinary Human Failings. Your writing is 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 Currently working my way through Yellowface by RF Kuang. Tempted to start my own commonplace book. I have Thoughts, and they need a vessel.

[@katsfieldnotes]

I want this book in everyone's hands 😭😭😭 If you do read it, come back and tell me pls! And hahaha thank you! That was all that came out as I stared at a wall in post-read disbelief Omgosh wait, how are you liking Yellowface?! And I say go for it! Its a cool project to start and I think if you review it (I rarely go back to read, but they recommend doing it with a commonplace!) I think it would be a super gratifying experience! Also sometimes the thoughts just need to go somewhereeee 😂 Peer pressure: activated. You kinda have to do it now. Consider me your accountability buddy

[@wtheckJackie]

@@katsfieldnotes yellowface is wild! It’s very fast paced which makes it fun, and the way RF Kuang distills this character’s racial biases into a million bite-size micro-aggressions is *wild* to see. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion and you can see every isolated frame. It’s also a bit unsettling (on purpose), though there’s something about it that makes it a slightly imperfect reading experience for me. If you pick it up, I’d be curious to know your thoughts! You sold me! Got me a commonplace journal this weekend. So excited to fill it up. 🥰

[@yenasung]

Omg say nothing as your cmas book 🥲 im reading it rn and totally see the hype you’re right every story feels like an action movie this nonfic is doing some serious fiction-level emotional damage. Cant wait to get to empire of pain and hundred yrs war on palestine. Omg u seriously need to read foster and the forester’s daughter for claire keegan. The impact of her short stories whew.

[@katsfieldnotes]

Fiction level emotional damage is RIGHT! repeatedly gutted by that book. And agree: re (most) of her short stories 😂